Collectively we plant just ten per cent of the trees that we fell, burn or slash. This seems to be beyond reckless as trees support our lifestyles in a variety of ways, and most importantly when we breathe out and they breathe in; they breathe out and we can thus breathe in.

So many of our modern practices mean that the trees are in danger - we chop down forests so that we can breed cattle for beef, to plant palm oil plantations, to plant tea crops, to build houses, to burn as firewood, to make furniture, and we lose forests to fire, theft and disease.

When the trees leave, poverty, and drought move in. What Can We Learn From Trees? looks at all that trees give us. However, with a population that is rising at an alarming rate, who will need increasing quantities of wood to heat food and houses, built shelters and homes, and land to farm on, forests almost everywhere are threatened.

There are so many tree planting initiatives going on around the world today, which is really good news for the planet! The most ambitious one is beginning to happen across several countries in Africa, and is called the Great Green Wall of Africa, as depicted in the picture below.

Many organisations and charities are involved in this huge scheme, and the idea behind it is to prevent the spread of the desert in the region. It also aims to improve the livelihoods of many communities along the wall by providing work and all the benefits that planting trees brings to an area - see Why Trees? for more information on how trees are beneficial.

More than 20 countries are combining their resources to finance and implement the project. It is difficult to guess how many people this project will eventually derive help from this initiative, but even ten years after the completion of the project, much may have changed for the better. At over 4000 miles long and nine miles wide, it will travel through 11 different countries and they will be planting native drought loving plants that are most likely to survive in that environment. Thank you to newsbox.unccd.int for the picture.

When trees are planted on land that used to forested, as the saplings grow and provide shade, a natural phenomena begins to happen. Seeds and roots that may have lain dormant for decades begin to grow as the top soil becomes fertile and shaded. As the trees grow, other plants can begin to flourish in the protection of the trees.

A whole new eco system is brought to life. There is much hope that this enormous tree planting initiative will begin to slow the encroachment of the desert, and also bring life back to the area that is planted.

Planting trees is such a rewarding and enjoyable pastime that is also of utmost importance to our long term survival strategy. Wherever you can, get involved in a local project, or travel to Africa and help us with ours!

Tree Planting Holidays will be planting a million trees in Africa and offering accommodation to those who would like to come and plant them with us- take a look round the website to find out more about what we are planning. You are more than welcome to come and join us!

The Tree Planting Holiday Team.

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It is a question that has often puzzled me as I spent 17 years in international sales for a security company and also have an enormous love of travel.

This week whilst I was visiting family in the north of England, an email came through from British Airways saying that my cumulative miles with them was 56,524 miles, or 4.6 journeys from pole to pole. Admittedly, most of this was prior to 2004 when I travelled frequently for work…

What alarmed me is that this is not the company that we used the most for my trips abroad with work. I also bought many flights with Lufthansa, KLM, Air France, Scandinavian Airways and many other companies….I flew an awful lot of miles in that time.

I also loved to travel, and have had the privilege of seeing whales and dolphins in Alaska, the Maldives, Baja, the Amazon, New Zealand, Trinidad….oranghutans in Sumatra, gorillas in Uganda, polar bears in Spitsbergen and much much more… in short, I am a very lucky person who has travelled to many places on our beautiful planet.

Whilst my primary aim was to go and see wildlife in their environs, when I travelled for pleasure, I must admit for the longest time, it did not occur to me that flying could well be damaging the very habitats I so loved to visit. I preferred to remain ignorant, and was in unconscious denial -using excuses like “Well the plane is flying there anyway so I may as well use the seat” to justify my wanderlust.

I think very differently now. With temperatures set to rise by an estimated 4-6% (2% is where they have said that the ice caps will melt, the oceans will suffer and the forests will burn), we are now talking about reducing green house gases, and yet not fast enough to reverse the damage we have already done.

Trees absorb carbon dioxide, and lock it away in their branches and leaves. We replant 10% of the trees that we cut down each year. We therefore have deficit building up of the ability to remove carbon from the atmosphere and thereby cool the planet.

One contributor to our carbon issues are flights, international or domestic. An example would be a return flight to Nairobi from Europe will generate approximately 1.5 tonnes of carbon emissions. A tree can absorb up to 48 lbs of carbon in a year. As a rough guide, to offset your carbon, you would need to plant around 5 trees per tonne of carbon emissions.

Thank you to the Tree Sisters for this image.

At Tree Planting Holidays, we aim to offer you the opportunity to come and plant trees with us and also to plant enough trees to compensate for the carbon emissions from your journey. Of course, you do not have to come to Africa to carbon offset, we will offer you the chance to donate sufficient funds to offset your usage, and we will plant the trees on your behalf.

Can you work out how many trees I need to plant to compensate for the 56,524 with British Airways? We aim to plant a million over the next 4-5 years, so I am hoping that this will make up for all the miles I have travelled in my time.

If you can help in anyway or would like to offset your carbon emissions, please get in touch via the contact page on the website, and we will respond as soon as we can. http://www.treeplantingholidays.com

How far have you travelled in your life? Come and help Tree Planting Holidays to make up for the damage we have caused and contribute to a future that is better for the generations to come?

Written by Caroline Nettle

If you would like to find out how I make money whilst promoting my new venture, find out here - The Prosperity Tribe

“Listen to the Wisdom of Your Body” Meditation

The Key to Happiness Literally Lies Within You

Are you sick and tired of searching for the answer to health and happiness outside of yourself? On the internet, at the doctors, in a book, on a course? We live in a world that tells us the more information we know, the better we will be able to live, heal and thrive.

This is just not true.

The answer to our health and happiness lies within us.

We look for the answers everywhere but inside ourselves. Did you know that your body already communicates with you all the time? Here are some of the ways- it talks to you daily, by telling you to:

Go to bed when you are tired

Put clothes on when you are cold

Drink when you are thirsty

Eat food when you are hungry

Take clothes off when you are hot

Avoid using the body when you have been injured

and many other ways it stays in communication with you so that you can continue breathing, walk freely, and process food so that you remain nourished.

The problem that we have is that there is so much body hatred in our societies in both men and women that we generally ignore our bodies’ wisdom in the pursuit of perfection.

How do we do this?

We-

Use caffeine and other substances to overcome natural tiredness

Use recreational drugs and alcohol to make ourselves feel better

Have surgery to improve various parts of our body

Use chemicals to whiten teeth, improve wrinkles etc.

Exercise less than is good for us or too much

Continue working when we are ill

Eat a poor diet, in a hurried way

Live stressed, hectic lives chasing money or power

And on. And on. Does this sound familiar?

We have lost the ability to listen to the wisdom of your body and we rely on external signals to function. We eat at meal times, instead of when we are hungry. We go to bed because it is bedtime, rather than listening to our body.

So many of us spend so much time thinking about how to change those bits that we hate, and it is a sad reflection of our time that it is exceptionally rare to meet someone who loves themselves just the way they are.

Especially women.

Again the body is the vehicle in which we travel through this lifetime. It is on our side. It wants us to be healthy and happy. It wants to help us find peace, and avoid pain.

What if you could start having a conversation with your body, and the key organs in the body to find out what it needs from you?

In this meditation, you will be introduced to how to listen to the wisdom of your body in a gentle and kind way. You will be guided how to ask questions and to listen for answers.

Each time you do this meditation, you will be building a bond with the only person that matters to you, and that is you.

Self love is born from a good relationship with the body. By finding out what your body needs and wants, you can make changes to your life that will naturally enhance it and enable you to make decisions that are healthful and good for you.

What Would the Benefit Be of Listening to the Wisdom of Your Body?

Our body tells us what we need to eat in the present moment. It knows what is lacking and what is required.

It knows how to cure diseases, attack viruses, fight infections, heal wounds, and protect us from harm.

It knows how to regulate hormones, reduce stress, and balance temperatures around the body.

It is also our vehicle for this journey on earth, and for the most part, it is the only one we will have this lifetime.

Only $17.97

Beautiful Meditation Caroline. Your voice is so calm and peaceful.. I enjoyed the journey very much and felt you holding a very sacred place both in the silence and in the guided imagery.

Lisa Morris, USA.

I don’t really know what I was expecting, but I do have to say it really resonated with me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I will be listening to it on a regular basis as funny enough I’d started the healing process with my body and I feel that this will help me along the way.

You truly are inspirational, thank you very much.

Claire Duggan – Jones, UK

I have never been able to listen so deeply to my body and specifically to the different organs than in this meditation. It gives you lots of insights into the connection of your mind & everything that troubles you with the functioning of your organs. What they need becomes very clear during the meditation & they really start to speak to you. It is Caroline’s educated guidance that helps you to listen to them very easily. And then the healing comes in very profoundly. Thank you so much for taking the time & putting in the effort to make such a beautiful meditation that can help so many people!

Maria Henkes, Holland

I found it an excellent meditation Very relaxing and easy to follow and most of all enjoyable to listen to and would certainly recommend it to friends. Thank you.

Danny Gormley

This information in no way should be used as a substitute for the advice of a medical professional. Whilst we hope that it is helpful, we recommend that any health or emotional issues should always be discussed with your GP or a relevant medial professional.

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Charles Eisenstein speaks to Spiritual Growth Tools on the Radio about his new book called The More Beautiful World our Hearts Know is Possible and how to be in the world when faced with the destruction and chaos.

There is so much in the news about global warming, global pollution and mankind's destruction of the plant. In a meditation recently I was told that the best antidote is to imagine the beauty and splendour of the planet and send her love.

I have recorded this medtiation and called it Heal the World Meditation and I hope that you both enjoy it and spread its message to others.